Needing to be Chloe like....



This is the first time Annabel met her cousin Chloe



This is the 2nd time she has seen Chloe



I have been thinking about the times Annabel has met her sweet cousin Chloe. She is actually my first cousin Terri's daughter.  Chloe is 6 years old.  So I guess that would make her Annabel's 3rd cousin. But in my crazy Cajun family our cousins were like our best friends.  Before pre-schools, play groups and daycares our mom would get together and us kids would play and spend time at each other homes. Also my grandparents lived locally so it was nothing for my grandparents to have us all over together and we could play for hours with each other. 

Chloe's parents are a good church going family and aren't afraid to share their faith. A couple of months ago Chloe asked her mother about Annabel. She said momma "when am I going to get to meet my cousin Annabel who I always pray for?"  So Terri text me and told me what Chloe had said and asked could they come see Annabel one weekend for a visit. We arranged to meet on a Sunday afternoon at our home. Chloe walked into our home and it was like she had always know Annabel. She wasn't scared of any of the tubes coming out of Annabel's body. With the sweetest child like attitude she just picked up some toys and began immediately interacting with Annabel. This went on for a few hours. She asked very sweet, innocent questions about Annabel and about her limitations. But she never stopped treating her like a "normal child." She threw balls to her, she would bring toys over, sing to her and just play!

This was our first meeting....

This past weekend another of my cousins had a baby shower at my moms house. I knew it would be crowded, lots of people and maybe germs, and my excuse was there really wasn't room for her wheelchair....

My sister called and reminded me that people wanted to see her who prayed for her in the past but didn't get many opportunities to see her. After an evening of thinking I decided that my sister was right and that I would load her up for the trip to grandmas for the shower.

After about 30 minutes of arriving, Annabel was sitting on the couch and being entertained by adults. She was happy as she always is....

Then the doorbell rang and the next thing I heard was a child like voice spotting Annabel when she walked into the room. She said "Momma Annabel IS here!!!" She played and entertained Annabel the entire time. She clapped over and over and made Annabel smile from ear to ear. I was happy I brought Annabel so other family members could see but what struck me most was how Chloe views Annabel....

You see Chloe doesn't see Annabel as handicapped, sickly, a child of a different race. Chloe truly doesn't see Annabel as any different from herself. Yes, maybe she prays a little more for Annabel than others because she needs more prayer.

My thoughts lately have been that I wish I was more Chloe like....My prayers is that we would all see each other like Chloe does. Really, no different from each other, that we are all created by God no matter our race and that some of us do need more prayers than others.

Kuddos to Terri and Ken her parents. You are doing great things with Chloe and she is teaching an old dog like me, new things!